Meet Hercules: The Older “Brother”
By Emmett Johnson
Meet Hercules
Hercules lives in the Laurie & Carlee McGrath Chateau and some of his nicknames are “Hercky” or “Hercky Turkey.” One of Hercules’ favorite enrichments is container smears; sometimes, he is picky about vegetables. He lives with young chimps and acts like an “older brother” to them because he acts as a mediator during conflict.
Hercules’ Older “Brother” Rank
Hercules is one of the older chimps in this group, and for awhile, he was the group’s alpha male. He isn’t actually an older brother, but the enforcer – meaning he mediates and moderates conflict. He has good relationships with all the chimps and loves attention. Hercules didn’t seem to want to hold the alpha position and allowed the other males in his group to step up with Binah ultimately securing the spot.
Chimps typically handle conflict by displaying, a showcase of their dominance where they make themselves look big, accompanied by pant hoots and stomping of the feet. Hercules is different because he seeks a resolution first; Hercules tries to resolve an issue by being a mediator and getting in between the two conflicting chimps to calm them down.
His group has many young male chimpanzees, and because of their age, their immaturity can cause extreme reactions. Hercules appears to know how to handle his responses better and acts like an older brother by calming the young chimps down, further securing his role as the enforcer. According to Sari, one of the primary caregivers, seeing this is a refreshing way to see conflict resolution amongst the chimps.
Hercules’ Backstory
Hercules is a very welcoming chimpanzee who greets any guest who enters the villa, but his backstory is heartbreaking. He, and his friend Leo, were used in Stony Brook University’s Department of Anatomical Sciences for experiments. The experiments studied how humans evolved to walk bipedally, which means walking on two legs.
They performed these experiments by putting metal shockers on Hercules Leo and forcing them to stand bipedal. These experiments kept the chimps in a basement and were not allowed outside. These conditions violate non-human rights, and a case worker filed a lawsuit against the university for the
chimps’ treatment.
The case went to the New York Supreme Court, where the petitioner wanted to fight to grant Hercules and Leo habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is what “protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment.” The petitioner argued that keeping chimpanzees in this kind of imprisonment is unjust because they “share almost 99% similar DNA to humans.”
The court ultimately dismissed the case. After the court’s dismissal, Hercules and Leo left the research facility and retired to Project Chimps. Although they did not win the lawsuit, Hercules and Leo are treated better and have their rights to live freely in sanctuary.
Aftermath of the Court Case
Hercules and Leo show trauma from this experience in different ways. The physical trauma is apparent in the way they walk. Neither chimp walks in the way a typical chimp might. The other trauma they show is in how they react to stimuli.
Leo can get over stimulated, especially whenever he sees a human he is unfamiliar with. His emotions can cause him to start shaking and begin screeching. When Leo responds in this way, Hercules often reaches out and comforts him.
Since Hercules and Leo both experienced the same lab experiment, Hercules is the best at being able to calm Leo down. The two of them have a very brotherly bond together (but they are not in fact brothers).
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